Israel has a much more attractive sound and spelling than Palistine, Iran, Iraq, or any other Middle Eastern nation, and a long history. Israel would be an excellent middle name for a child.

-- Anonymous User 6/15/2009

In Spanish, Israel is pronounced ees-rah-elle. It's a nice name, it flows smoothly and I would totally use it except I know many people would probably be a little iffy towards it. But this would be perfect for a middle name as well.

Israel as a modern-day country does NOT have a long history; in fact, only after WWII. I'm not anti-semitic (I know a lot of Jewish people and have no problem with the Jewish faith), but I am anti-zionist. Not the same thing. I know several Palestinians, very nice people. But this is no place for politics. You can draw your own conclusions. Other than the fact that I dislike the country, I dislike the sound of the name. Add to that the fact it sounds like something a pro-Israel extremist would name their child, and well, the only thing it has going for it is that it does look quite nice written down.

-- Anonymous User 9/30/2009

Looks like some of the commenters here didn't see that the rules of the site say no "harassing, rude, vulgar, or off-topic" comments.

Please don't say that "this is no place for politics" if you're going to contradict yourself. You seriously think "it sounds like something a pro-Israel extremist would name their child"? Oh, please! Do not say you don't hate Jews if you are going to insult a traditional Jewish name. Also, the Jews are sometimes referred to as "the Children of Israel", a prominent Biblical character.

Israel was a given name for thousands of years, and the modern state did not invent the name. In modern Israel, the name is actually not used so much anymore as it too associated with the older generations (similar to how Milton is considered an "old man's name" in the US).

Jewish immigrants in the US from the 19th century (a long time before the state was founded) with the name Israel would often change their names to Irving, Ira or Isidore to be more Americanized. They'd keep Israel as their Hebrew name. The Yiddish speaking Jews from Eastern Europe would pronounce it Yisroel ("yiss-ROY-uhl").

In 1938, the Nazi Regime had forced Jews who did not have a “typically Jewish name” to add Israel or Sarah to their names in order to easily identify them (law #174).

The name Israel has been rising in popularity in recent years, just like many other meaningful Biblical names.

Before the comment section becomes a political battlefield, I would like to comment that Israel was a name before it was an ancient nation, and therefore obviously before it was the modern nation, and it is simply an alternative way of naming someone after the Biblical Jacob, and "Israel" should be no more controversial, in my opinion, than "Jacob" is.

-- Anonymous User 6/21/2010

Most people don't like the name because it's so different, but I love it! I like it for a girl and would pronounce it... Is Ray Ell instead of Is Ray Ul. Does anybody else like this name like that?